A Wilde Night

 

Date night can take many forms. At the moment I’m still celebrating being able to leave the house at all,  so almost any excursion feels like a treat. Last night my husband and I went all out for an evening in Wilde Lake. It was a lot of fun.

We began by picking up some subs at Pizza Boli’s in the Wilde Lake Village Center and eating dinner outside in the courtyard. It was a mild evening and a great setting for some people watching. I was particularly curious about a group of young women having some sort of event centered around a circle of orange Adirondack chairs. They had a table set up with a pot luck snack buffet and they were having a wonderful time. 

It was fascinating to see the new (relatively new, I know) layout of the Village Center on a Friday night and see how people are using the space. Even with the impact of the pandemic over the last year and a half, you can clearly see life and enjoyment and just plain everyday functional use. You will never get me to call it “The Shoppes at Wilde Lake” but, now that I’m getting out more, I’ll definitely be popping over there more often.

As fun as the people-watching was for me, the real vista worth mentioning was this one:

What an amazing tree. And I’m rather delighted by the appearance of the iconic sculpture* in the background, seemingly photo-bombing the picture. If you’re from Wilde Lake this tree is probably an old friend. For me it was a delightful surprise, as beautiful as any of the public art for which Columbia is known. I sure hope that someone is taking good care of that tree.

From dinner we moved on to Wilde Lake High School to experience their Marching Band at a home game. Yes, I understand there was some sort of sportsing prelude leading up to the half time show, but let’s be honest. We’re musicians. We came for the band, and most especially to support the student musicians and their director Saul Green. 

An aside: I haven’t been around that many adolescents in quite a while. I have no idea how my husband works with teens every day. The intensity! Wow. So many teenagers all in one place. If you teach adolescents I salute you. 

The band was, no surprise, the highlight of the evening.

Their director has a lot to be proud of. What a great group of young people, sharing their love of music all while maintaining the determined focus required to perform all that synchronized movement. I would be inclined to call it choreography. I believe that in the band world it is known as “drill.” 

Yes, I’ve seen plenty of high school marching band performances before. It’s not a foreign entity to me. I’ve seen my nephews compete in the Sweet Sixteen band day at the Indiana State Fair, and I enjoyed “Friday Night Live”, the River Hill High School spin on a football game band which included an electrified guitar ensemble. What made this different for me is that this band and these kids have taken so much abuse this Fall just for being who they are. Simply for existing. 

And they are not going to let that stop them. 

It seems like an outrageous question, but I’m going to ask it anyway: what can we, as a community, do to make this county safe for the WLHS Marching Band? And why do we even need to ask this?

You have one more chance to see the Wilde Lake High School Marching Band at home this season: October 30th. Or you could always send an email to the school letting them know you support the kids and their director. Just a thought. 

We had a great Date Night in Wilde Lake last night. Dinner and a show may look different to you, but, for us, it was just right.

*”Family” by Pierre du Fayet